Late Night Murmurs
The room is dark. Of the four figures huddled onto the bed, Agnes is sitting up in the dark, running soothing fingers through Tiz's naturally messy hair. He had woken from one of his frequent night terrors earlier, and Agnes was trying to lull him back to sleep. She sighs gently, feeling Tiz drift into a, hopefully peaceful, sleep. All four of them had been the victims of awful nightmares, that they found sleeping crammed in one of the king size beds in the Grandship's many rooms offered them some comfort. The presence of each other quelled their nightmares, and once someone was frightened or panicked, another would be there to assure them immediately. It had been Edea to timidly suggest the idea at first. Ringabel had, of course, come up with a lewd remark, but Agnes knew that Ringabel was also suffering from a lack of sleep, made evident by the darkness around his eyes, despite his usual flamboyant facade. Ever since they spent their first night sleeping together for comfort, they had done it ever since. Getting ready for bed, they would all head to their shared room and let sleep claim them until someone inevitably wakes from whatever horrors their mind has brought to them that night.
Agnes detangles her fingers from Tiz's hair, positive he is asleep. On Tiz's other side is Edea, and she seems to be resting peacefully. Agnes gently brushes hair from the younger girls face. As she turns to check on Ringabel, who is resting besides her, she notices the tears on his face. He begins murmuring, the usual gibberish that no one can decipher, and Agnes makes the decision to wake him before he wakes the two younger ones up. Ringabel is startled when she shakes him awake, his eyes are wide with fear and something that Agnes can't quite identify, and he relaxes when he realizes that it is only Agnes above him. His face softens for a bit, and silently, he sits up, wiping the tears off his cheeks. He sits with his face in his hands for a bit. Agnes can feel his his choked breathing and silently strokes his back in return. Once he has calmed down a bit, Agnes gestures to the door and he nods silently.
Once outside, the fresh air on the deck of the Grandship is quite refreshing. It's a calm night. Agnes turns to Ringabel, "Another one?"
Ringabel, leaning on the railing, is staring out at the sky. "Yeah." His voice is flat.
Agnes walks up so that she's next to him, and for a moment they both stare out at the vast emptiness of the night sky. "Tiz had woken up before you, you know. I believe he was dreaming of his mother tonight. You did not wake me, because I had just gotten Tiz back to sleep. Edea is resting peacefully. I'm quite relieved. I was worried the pain of killing her past comrades over and over again would plague her with terrors every night." Agnes says absentmindedly. She feels a certain responsibility towards everyone, as she suffers from only the occasional nightmare as opposed to the ones that visit her friends so often. Her fears come to her when she is awake, in the moments of darkness when she is trying to fall asleep. When horrible thoughts visit her consciousness and she lays awake because she is too afraid to sleep.
Ringabel's voice drags her back from her thoughts . "I'm glad. For a while Edea was having such awful fits, I worried we would never have a peaceful night again." He says, and he chuckles. His laugh sounds hollow, and flat. He silent for a moment before saying " And I'm sure you're much better at getting Tiz back to sleep than I ever was." He winks at her and nudges the vestal playfully with his elbow. Agnes flushes. "R-ringabel! It's-not! Un-Unaccep-" Ringabel cuts off her flustered sputtering with his laughter, a sound that stops Agnes in her tracks. Now that was his laugh. Maybe it's because she's a little sleep deprived and a little emotionally unstable enough as it is, but she feels tears coming to her eyes. She isn't sad. Relieved, perhaps, that she heard Ringabel laugh genuinely for the first time in a while. Ringabel, noticing her tears, is surprised. "Agnes? Are you crying? It wasn't what I said right?"
She giggles, tears on her cheeks, "No. You..laughed. I do not know why, but I felt relieved, so I suppose I teared up." Ringabel rubs the back of his head and grins at her. "Well, no more tears. You know I hate it when pretty girls cry." He plops on the ground, his back against the wall. Agnes wipes her cheeks and sits next to him. Their shoulders brush, and for a while they sit in silence. "Ringabel, after.. After this is all over...Can…The four of us stay together? Like we are now?" Ringabel sighs. "I would like that Agnes. I want nothing more than to spend my days with the three of you."
"Good. I do not think we would ever hear the end of it from Edea if we all split up. She loves you, you know." Agnes says. The four of them are a weird family. With Ringabel's feelings for Edea, and her mutual feeling towards him, as well as the rising electricity between herself and Tiz. Ringabel smiles softly. "I know. Our future is uncertain, but I'm...I'm glad that I have you all here with me." His hand finds hers, and their fingers entwine. Agnes sighs softly and lays her head on his shoulder. Ringabel's voice, barely above a whisper continues. "Really Agnes, when I think about being alone, without Edea or Tiz, or you, I...I'm frightened. My dreams. They're from a world where I have failed you all. I've lost all of you once already and I-" His voice catches, and his grip on Agnes' hand grows a little tighter.
"It's alright Ringabel. We're going to prevent that from happening. We will succeed. I promise you this, not only as the vestal of wind, but as one of your closest friends." Her voice is determined, and she holds his hand securely. Ringabel only nods in response, worried that any noise he makes now will sound very weak and soft since his voice is so choked up. He swallows the lump in his throat and rests his head atop hers. They stay like this for a moment, holding hands and enjoying each other's presence. Agnes speaks up first. "If we fall asleep sitting against this wall, not only will we catch our death of colds, we will be very sore in the morning." Ringabel can only agree with her logic, and he also misses the presence of Edea and Tiz. He needs all three of them within arm's reach before he can sleep. They walk back to the room and Ringabel is pleased to see Edea and Tiz curled up like little pups. They're so cute he wants to dive on the bed just to see their sleepy eyes blink at him confusedly, but he knows Agnes will scold him if he wakes the younger ones up. He watches Agnes slip into the bed next to Tiz, and he follows after her. He kneels and give a quick kiss to Edea's cheek and Tiz's forehead. When he settles into bed next to Agnes, he presses a light kiss into her forehead. She sighs contentedly, sandwiched between Tiz and Ringabel, her boys, and she easily falls into sleep. Ringabel listens to the sounds of his companions, his friends, his family, sleeping. He's never heard a more beautiful sound.